TV is a tough nut...and it's a nut you crack differently depending on
your audience.

I think it would be a bit misguided to buy only Emmy Award shows
(just as it would be misguided to only buy Oscar-winning movies). In
academia, I'd say you buy TV to suit curricular and research
needs: this usually means buying materials that represent the
historical "growth" of the medium (growth of TV...big
oxymoron!)...you buy to represent notable genre examples (sitcoms,
scifi, talkshows, crime shows, etc.)...you buy to represent TV's
reflection of the changing social, cultural, and political times, or
TVs coverage of BIG EVENTS. The big issue, I think, is how much ("Do
we buy the 145th season of the Simpsons, or will a couple of seasons
do?). The intensity and depth of collecting should be closely
pegged to the academic programs on a campus.

Public libraries, obviously, have slightly different criteria, but I
think what I've said above would generally apply also.

At 05:32 AM 2/23/2006, you wrote:>Is your library buying TV shows on DVD? If so, could you please >share your criteria for making selections? We are buying some TV >shows but because of the large number coming out on DVD we don't >know where to draw the line. Are you buying only Emmy award winning >shows? Any help is appreciated!>>Toni Blessing>Popular Materials Supervisor>Kanawha County Public Library>Charleston, WV><mailto:Toni.blessing@kanawha.lib.wv.us>Toni.blessing@kanawha.lib.wv.us>>

"In societies where modern conditions of production prevail,
all of life presents itself as an immense accumulation of
spectacles."
--Guy Debord
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TV is a tough nut...and it's a nut you crack differently depending on
your audience.

I think it would be a bit misguided to buy only Emmy Award shows (just as
it would be misguided to only buy Oscar-winning movies). In
academia, I'd say you buy TV to suit curricular and research needs:
this usually means buying materials that represent the historical
"growth" of the medium (growth of TV...big oxymoron!)...you buy
to represent notable genre examples (sitcoms, scifi, talkshows, crime
shows, etc.)...you buy to represent TV's reflection of the changing
social, cultural, and political times, or TVs coverage of BIG
EVENTS. The big issue, I think, is how much ("Do we buy the
145th season of the Simpsons, or will a couple of seasons
do?). The intensity and depth of collecting should be closely
pegged to the academic programs on a campus.

Public libraries, obviously, have slightly different criteria, but I
think what I've said above would generally apply also.

At 05:32 AM 2/23/2006, you wrote:

Is your library
buying TV shows on DVD? If so, could you please share your
criteria for making selections? We are buying some TV shows
but because of the large number coming out on DVD we donít know where to
draw the line. Are you buying only Emmy award winning
shows? Any help is appreciated!